Now is the time to move to Erie!

I miss all the good stuff. We bought our first house before the feds started giving tax credits for buying a house. Then we bought our second house right before they offered the "move up" tax credit. Now this...

The board of Trustees decided last night that we need more people buying homes in Erie, so to entice them in to our lovely town, Erie is now offering the following for new homebuyers:

• 3-Month Family Pass to Erie Community Center (Valued at $189 / Limited to first 60 homebuyers in 2011) - This offers the new resident the opportunity to "try before they buy" and provides the potential for additional revenue in the first year should they upgrade to an annual pass or renew the 3-month pass on the expiration of the initial 3-month trial period. 

• Tree Incentive Program – (Value: $125) Certificates are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis until all have been claimed for the calendar year.

• Free Irrigation Audit – (Value: $110) The irrigation audit is designed to pinpoint inefficiencies in an irrigation system which contributes to water waste, unnecessary runoff, increased run-time and maintenance costs.

And then if you buy a NEW home (you are welcome, Taylor Morrison), you get the additional goodies:

• Free Tree Program – (Value: $200) Each buyer of a new home in Erie receives a $200 Tree Certificate good towards the purchase of trees at participating nurseries.

• Colorado National Membership Discounts (Valued at $2,250) - One Free Golf Membership Initiation Fee ($1500 value) and six months free dues with one year paid in advance ($750 value) (Associate Membership only)

• Vector Air (Value $99) – Free welcome to Erie flight. This flight will introduce new Erie residents to the airport and provide an aerial tour of Erie.

I'm a wee bit jealous of the golf membership and Vector Air free trip... so if you are going to buy a house here and you for some strange reason do not want any of these freebies, you go ahead and let me know!

This looks like a win-win situation for the town, homebuyers, and local establishments. According to Mayor Wilson, the program pays for itself with one new home being built. The town collects roughly $40,000 on fees from builders. Not too shabby.

*Information of town incentives pulled from www.erieco.gov.